Saturday, September 13, 2014

If You Could Be Mine

If You Could Be Mine, by Sara Farizan, 247 pages

If You Could Be MineThis is an impressive first work of young adult fiction by Sara Farizan, and touches on a subject rarely discussed.  Sahar and Nasrin are two young women in love, but it's an especially dangerous enterprise since they live in Iran, where their love is illegal.  When Nasrin becomes engaged to a young doctor, Sahar sees her world spinning out of control.  By chance, Sahar discovers that even though homosexuality is illegal in Iran, transsexuality is seen by the government as a flaw that they will pay to fix with surgery.   Sahar decides that to keep Nasrin, she should become a man. 

I found the premise suspect, but according to the flawless Wikipedia, this is actually true- Iran offers more gender reassignment surgeries than almost any other country in the world.  It's refreshing to read LGBT fiction for young adults that addresses the "T"- you don't see that too often.  I felt that it was addressed responsibly and with sensitivity. 

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